Transformers Prime: The Gridlock
by Ezeray
Summary: Before the war for Cybertron had started, new lives were created at the Well of Allsparks. One of these lives was a femme named Shard. But what this fun loving, curious goofball didn't know is that one day, she was to become a leader. One day, her best friend would change, feelings would be bent, choices were to be made, but most of all, lives in her hands would be at stake.
1. Welcome to Cybertron

_**A/N: Hey guys! Thanks for giving this a read! I have posted pictures of some of my TFP ocs on my Instagram account ( shards . ezeray )More will be posted as well as all my ocs (eventually) WARNING! There are spoilers to the story on the captions. so don't read what i put on there if you don't want spoilers. Anyways! Enjoy!**_

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A bright light, a blue shine. The Well of Allsparks once again gave birth to new life on Cybertron.

"Where.. where am I?" A newly made femme asked. She was slender and tall with blue, black, and silver coloring.

"This is Cybertron, your home." Said a being infront of her. She looked up to see him, or rather, them. The Guilds of Cybertron. "You will be granted a name, one of your choosing, and a place in our civilization." Another one of them said.

"This.. this is life?" The femme asked. The mech nodded in response.

"What is your name?" The mech asked.

"Uh... I'm." She thought for a moment, words formed in her head, so many new things surrounded her, but then a word stood out. "I am Shard. My name is Shard." She said and stood a little more confidently.

"Shard, assume you alternative mode." commanded the Guilds.

"My.. what?" Shard said, but without a response from the Guilds, she transformed into a vehicle. A car, slim and sleek.

"Hm.." the Guilds conversated amongst themselves then turned back to her.

"Our decision is made. Shard, from this day forth, you will be a cultural investigator!" Just then, a jet came flying out of the well. He transformed on his way down and landed a few feet away from Shard. He was a few feet taller than Shard. He was colored with varies shades of dark purples and dark blues. His optics were grey with blue centers ringed with purple. He had two wings pointed down and sloping shoulders. the stood before the Guilds. "What is your name, young one?" They asked him.

"My name? My name is.. Skywing." The Guilds nodded and talked once again.

"It has been decided. Skywing, you will be a cultural investigator as well!" Skywing nodded to the Guilds while Shard glanced over at him. "Go now, to the Hall of Records in Iacon." The two new life forms nodded and the members of the Guilds walked off to great new lives.

"So, Skywing, huh?" Shard said as they started to walk off. "Quiet an entrance you made." She said and scoffed

"Well yeah, I had no idea what was going on, all I knew is that I could fly. So I flew." He said with a straight face that soon broke into a smile. "And I also though it was cool."

"Well, I guess it was." She said as they continued to walk. "So, Iacon. Where's that exactly? Or this Hall of Records." Skywing stopped then looked around.

"Might have been some good questions to ask those guys." He said, then spotted another mech.

"Hey!" Shard called out and ran over to him. She grabbed Skywing's arm and pulled him along. "Come on!" He almost fell over then quickly followed her.

"Hi." Skywing said as they approached the mech. "We, uh, well we were sent to go to the Hall of Records, do you know where that is?" The mech looked them over then gave a kind smile.

"New. Straight from the Well?" He asked and the two nodded. "Of course. The Hall of Records would be 220 clicks south," he said and pointed in the direction. "And if you don't mind me asking, do you two have names?" Shard nodded with a smile and held out her hand.

"I'm Shard!" The mech took her hand and shook it.

"Castiron." He said then let go of her hand a d turning to the other. "And you?"

"Skywing. It's nice to meet you, Castiron." He said and shook his hand. "And thank you."

"Oh it's no problem. Now go before the Guilds get mad. Oh, and welcome to Cybertron." He said with a smile and the two others nodded. They turned in the direction of the Hall of Records and Skywing transformed as Castiron walked on.

"Do you fly?" Skywing asked Shard.

"Hm.. I guess not." She said then glaces back. She started to move the parts on her back and suddenly, they extended outward into wings. Metal feather like structures came from them. "Nevermind!" She said as boosters on her feet launched her into the air she fumbled a little while before somewhat getting the hang of it. She ended up falling and flipping over, landing on hey side. Skywing transformed back and quickly went over to her.

"Are you okay?" He asked and held out a hand. Shard simply laughed as she took his hands and he helped her up.

"I'm fine, I just need some practice on that." She said as she stood.

"Yeah, should we go on foot?" He asked and gave her a small smile.

"Well, you can. I'm rolling!" She said and started to run. She jumped and transformed into her alt mode and took off.

"Okay then." Skywing said and took to the air.

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After a while, they transformed back and walked up to a building.

"So, is this it?" Shard asked and Skywing shrugged. "Well, seems grand enough." He said

"That's good enough for me! Let's go!" Shard said as she again grabbed his arm and pulled him into the building. They looked around, slightly lost, but the were met by someone much bigger than both of them.

"Greetings. I am Alpha Trion. I have not seen you two before. What are your names, and why have you come to the Hall of Records?"

"Uh, well-" Shard started, but was cut off by Skywing.

"I am Skywing and this is Shard. We just came from the Well of Allsparks."

"Yeah, and we were sent here by these mechs. They said that we are to be Cultural Investigators." Shard finished for him. Alpha Trion nodded.

"I see." He said then lead them to a hallway.

"I will assign you both to a data clerk. You are to report to them after each of your travles. Come. They will tell you all you need to know." He glanced back at them to make sure they where following. "For now, I will tell you the basics of our society." Alpha Trion lead the two down a hall as he spoke to them. "Here on Cybertron, we have what we call a caste system. You two are lucky. You are higher up in the system since you have been assigned you're duties."

"So what do we do exactly?" Shard asked as she hurried to keep up.

"As cultural investigators you two will travel the globe and find out as much as you can on each trip about how different Cybertronians live. Different ways and walks of life..." Shard and Skywing started to talk among each other and somewhat tuning out Alpha Trion as they followed.

"So, are we partners?" Shard asked and looked up at Skywing.

"Well, I guess so. As of now, we have been." Skywing said and Shard chuckled. "It doesn't sound like a bad plan."

"Yeah, it doesn't." Shard said with a smile. "So, we'll be traveling a lot, On the bright side, we're higher up in this caste system. I wonder what happens to the lower class." Shard asked in a hushed voice. Skywing just looked at her and shrugged. "Hm... well I guess we'll find out."

"Oh, you will." Alpha Trion said, which made Shard jump a little. She didn't realize he was listening to them. They all fell quiet as they turned and walked into another hallway lines with doors. "Each one is an office for data clerks. And this is only a small fraction of all the data clerks we have." He led them to a door and it open as they walked up to it. As the door opened, a mech glanced over then quickly stood when he realized who had walked in.

"Alpha Trion. What brings you here?" The mech asked. He was a tall narrow shouldered mech that was maroon and silver.

"I am assigning a new cultural investigator to you." Alpha Trion stepped aside to show him the two others. "Russet, this is Skywing and Shard. They are new cultural investigators. Skywing will be reporting to you after his travels and relay you his collected data." Russet walked around his desk to great him.

"It's nice to meet you." He said as he outstretched his hand. Skywing took it and shook his hand with a nod.

"Likewise." Skywing said then turned to Alpha Trion. "So.. we wont have the same assigned data clerk?" he asked Alpha Trion.

"No. Russet is skilled. But he already has five others that are assigned to him." He said as he walked out, gesturing for Shard to follow. He turned back and looked to Skywing. "Skywing. I will leave you here with Russet. He will give you everything you need as far as equipment. Russet," He then turned to the maroon mech, "Show him anything you think he needs to know about before he leaves." Russet nodded to him as he left. Shard looked at Skywing as the door closed.

"Before he leaves?" Shard asked as she looked up at Alpha Trion.

"Yes, you two will so as soon as you both are done here. Your job starts almost immediately." He said as he continued to walk.

"Oh." Shard say and looked down the hall. They walked through a few more halls. Shard stayed quiet for a little while until she could no longer hold in her burning question.

"Ok, we've been walking for a while, so who's my data clerk?" She asked and again looked up. Alpha Trion said nothing as he walked up to a door and it opened. There sat a blue, red, and silver mech with broad shoulders.

"Shard. This is Orion Pax." He stood up and walked up to them. "You will be reporting to him."


	2. Meeting Orion

_**A/N: Hey! Thanks for the wonderful comments! And the fav/follow! It's greatly appreciated! Anyways, I'll shut up and get on with the story! ;)**_

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"Orion," said Alpha Trion, "this is Shard. I think you are ready to take on an assigned cultural investigator." Orion nodded and turned to the femme.

"Hello Shard. It is nice to meet you." He walked around his desk to greet her. He held his hand out for her to shake. Up close, Shard realized he toward over her. At least three meters taller that her. She looked up and was speechless.

"Uh hi.." she finally said and took his outstretched hand. It engulfed her own. Orion let go as Alpha Trion looked at the two for a second then spoke.

"Orion, I have already given you what you need to equip her with. I have faith that I have taught you well, now pass on what I've taught you. You know where I'll be if you need anything." Alpha Trion said as he gave them both a nod.

"Yes sir." Orion said and with that, Alpha Trion left. Orion then tuned to Shard. He didn't smile but he had kindness in his eyes.

"So, uh, Orion Pax.. that's a cool name." Shard said to break the awkward silence. Orion nodded and went to a shelf.

"Shard is quite interesting as well." He said as he began to gather things and take them back to his desk. Shard followed him and had a certain thought scratch at the back of her mind, but she brushed it aside and offered to help.

"Uh, what can I do?" She asked as she watched him carry all the equipment. "Here I can take that." She offered when he didn't answer, but Orion just slightly shook his head and walked past her. He then set the items on his desk. "... or not." Shard said as the thought started to think that what she simply brushed aside may be true: _'This isn't going to work..'_ She shrugged slightly and walked up to his desk, slightly leaning on it only to get a disapproving glace from Orion. "Sorry." she said and stepped back. "So, what is this stuff for?" She asked as he started to organize everything.

"It's all used to help you record any and all data."He said as he looked at it all with a rather approving glance this time. "This," he said as he picked up a gadget, "this is an audio recorder. It catches sound as quiet as a needle dropping." It looked like an angled, box shape with another thin piece of metal horizontally on the bottom. "Give my your arm." Shard seemed slightly confused but complied regardless. "It can be attached to your arm for easy access." Orion explained.

"Oh, okay. That's cool." Shard said and nodded "Easy access is good." she felt so awkward with him. He was just so quiet. So different. Skywing was more-or-less quiet, but at least he had personality.

"It is." Orion said as he fitted the audio recorder on her forearm. The horizontal bar extended and curved to conform to the shape of her arm. "There." He said then reached for another contraption. "This is for more so protection." He said. It was slender piece of metal that he attached to the side of the audio recorder. "It can shoot a small beam that stuns an attacker long enough for you to get away." Orion said as he avoided eye contact and his voice lowered. "Alpha Trion believes it is better to be armed than give you this so that it's subtle and blends in."

"Sounds a little.."

"Illegal? I agree." Orion said as he finished. "But unfortunately, Alpha Trion is right when he says that it can be dangerous out there. Just.. use it as a last resort." He said and Shard nodded. Orion nodded back.

"Anything else?" Shard asked and Orion nodded. He went over and grabbed what looked like an iron rod. "What's that?" Shard asked. Instead of answering, Orion simply opened it. He pressed a circle on the face of the cylinder and part of the side slid out. He took hold of the part and pulled it. It lit up with a faint glow.

"This is a tablet to record anything you choose to manually. I prefer that you do this rather than audio." He said and did a mini demonstration. "You open it as I already did, and you hit this key in the top corner. You can start a new note or document. Organize it all into folders. Whatever you like. But again, that's more-so my job." he said then closed it up and handed it to her.

"Okay, got it." She said and seemed to not know where to put it.

"Oh, sorry. Here." Orion said and picked up what looked like a thin belt. "It helps you carry what ever you need to carry." He said and began to put it on her. He wrapped his arms around her to pull the belt around her waist, which made Shard feel slightly uncomfortable, but it didn't phase Orion, that is, until he saw her reaction. "Oh, uh, my apologies." he said and quickly finished putting the belt on her. "You, uh, can just attach the tablet on the belt. Just put it close to it and it will automatically attach itself." Orion said as he turned to his desk.

"Thanks." Shard said and did just that. Some of the awkwardness slightly faded from her as she saw that it worked. "That's awesome." She said, but Orion was quiet.

"Um.. I think that's it." He said and then stayed quiet in thought, he tried to think of anything else. "You could get a visor. It's not a necessity, but there are different kinds. Some for analyzing, some for the daylight. So on, so forth." He thought then perked up. "Oh! Of course, how could I forget?" He went over to a closet and searched around for a bit. Shard took a few steps towards him and tried to see. "Uh.. oh, there it is!" Orion said and came back, almost running into Shard.

"Oh, sorry." Shard said as Orion dropped something. "Is it broken?" She asked and bent down to help him pick up what he had gathered.

"It's going to take a lot more than that to break this." he said with a slight chuckle. "It's meant to survive through the worst of conditions. It's a personal energon reserve. It's refillable, of course, and is for emergencies _only_." he said as he attached it to her belt. "It can also contact us here at the Hall of Records, me specifically since you have been appointed to me. Then, of course, I will relay any and all information to Alpha Trion." He said and stepped back. "Now I believe that is- no. No it's not." Orion said and shook his head.

"What else could there be?" Shard asked as Orion went over to his desk. He searched around until he found a blue sliver of metal that was cased in blue marking. "And that is?"

"It's called the information disk. You can insert it into your tablet. It was the key points of Cybertronian life and culture. That way you don't collect to much of what we already have." Orion handed her the disk and pointed to a pot on her belt. "When not in use, you can store it there. Perfectly safe." He said and she put it where he pointed.

"Alright. Now what happens?" Shard asked and Orion was again quiet in thought.

"Now, you go and collect more data for the Hall of Records. You must report back between now and the end of the lunar cycle." he said and gave her a slight smile.

"Awesome. See you after a while then." Shard nodded and smiled at him before turning on her heels, but then quickly turned back. "How do I get out of here?" She asked.

"Right. I can lead you out." Orion offered and Shard nodded. Orion then walked off and towards the door.

"Oh! We have to find Skywing first!" Shard said as she began to follow him.

"Who?" Orion asked as he glanced back at her with a look of slight confusion.

"He's been assigned to Russet." Shard said and Orion nodded as he continued to walk.

"Of course, Russet. He's a wonderful data clerk." He said and Shard simply shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess. I just met the guy." To Shard's surprise, Orion gave a slight chuckle.

"Well, you'll get to know him eventually, I'm sure. You can't not get to know Russet. Even though he doesn't talk much, not about himself at least. Information gets around here. It's our job, after all." Orion said without looking back. Shard then had a genuine smile as she looked up at him.

 _'Maybe this_ _could actually work. Maybe."_


	3. The Library

Shard and Orion Pax walked in silence fore awhile. Orion would say something about Iacon every now and again, but since Shard has only just been born, there wasn't much she could say that he didn't already know.

"Here we are." Orion said and walked up to a door. It opened and no one was on the other side. "Strange.." he said and walked around.

"Is this Russet's office? Where is he?" Shard asked. With a touch more concerned she added, "And where's Skywing?" Orion was quiet and walked out. Shard followed and the door closed behind them.

"He must be showing him around..." Orion said thoughtfully. He walked into another corridor and looked around. "I don't leave my desk much, only to power-down and such." He said and looked around.

"So are you telling me we're lost?" Shard asked and Orion quickly looked down to her.

"No, of course not." He said then looked up again. "Just confused as to where they could be." He walked off and Shard followed close behind.

"Now where are we going?" Shard asked and she quickened her steps to keep up with Orion's long strides.

"I might have an idea where they could be." Orion said as a look of determination to find them came to his face. He walked briskly until he found a hallway that seemed grander than the others. "There." He said and pointed a finger at a grand door at the end of the hallway. "It's the library. It holds ancient scrolls and tablets. Russet is often found there, organizing data and reading some." He said and walked towards it. Shard looked at the door and gawked at how ornate it was. Once they got to it, it didn't open like the other doors. So, Shard tried to push it open.

"For Prius sake, why is this door so hard to open!?" She asked as she put forth much effort to open the door.

"Here." Orion said and stepped in front of the middle of the door. He pressed a detailed panel on it and a scanner came and scanned him up and down. There was a beep sound as the scanner went away and then the door seemed to pixel away. inside was a room that matched to door that guarded it. There were grreat columns and rows of shelves filled with an assortment or tablets, records and scrolls. Shard was in slight awe, then looked up and glared at Orion.

"Really?" She said and Orion glanced down at her. "You couldn't have done that before I looked like an idiot? with a slight smile.

"Eventually, you'll be registered into the Hall of Records data base and be able to have access to the library." He explained innocently. "It's one of the most secured rooms in Iacon. It holds much information of Cybertron, even some that are classified." He said and walked in. Shard rolled her eyes and followed. She looked around and saw a few other bots walking around, but not many. "There he is." Orion said as he spotted Russet.

"Orion." He said as they walked up to him. Shard looked around to find Skywing. She spotted him at the end of the shelf. She quickly went over to him while Russet and Orion talked.

"Hey, you found it." Skywing said calmly as he saw her come up. "I was wondering if your data clerk was going to show you the library. Who is he anyways?"

"His name is Orion Pax." Shard said with a nod towards him. "He's, uh, he's alright.

"Hm, seems to be alrgiht." Skywing said as he watched the two data clerks talk. Shard shrugged then looked at Skywing.

"He gave you all your stuff?" She asked him and he nodded. "So I guess we're ready to head out." She said, with a rather dull tone.

"Yeah.. is there a problem?" Skywing asked as he looked at Shard with courious eyes. She looked away and back at the clerks.

"Nothing, I'm just not too sure if we'll be alright, you know?" She looked slightly down as the clerks glanced at them. "I have a bad feeling about it, like, I premonition." She said thinking of what Orion said when he gave her her weapon. Skywing put a hand on her shoulder and she looked back up at him.

"We'll be fine. What's the worse that can be out there anyways?" Skywing reassured her with a small smile. Shard smiled back and stood up straight.

"You're right." She said, but her smile faded once again. "I just can't help but feel like they're hiding something, though." She confessed and Skywing nodded.

"I must agree with that. Russet had mentioned something about a recent speech made, but then he quickly change the subject." He said the looked up at the shelf. "Maybe we could find a few answers here." He said and Shard looked up as well.

"Yeah, questions.." she said and gave a short sigh. The data clerks looked over at them and nodded to eachother. They then walked up to the two newbies. Orion nodded towards Skywing.

"You must be Skywing. It is a pleasure to meet you." He said as he held out his hand.

"Likewise." Skywing said and shook his hand.

"Orion, I'm trying to put up some files, if you could show them out." Russet said as he shifted the weight of the assortment of things he carried.

"I would be more than happy to do so." Orion said respectfully. Russet gave a slight nodded and Orion started to walk out. He glanced back to make sure Skywing and Shard were following, and of course, they were.

"Skywing, I'm sure Russet has already told you that once you are registered into the Hall of Records data base, you will have full access to all the rooms here. Including the library." Orion said and Skywing nodded.

"Yeah, he mightv'e mentioned it." Skywing said and Orion gave a nod.

"This place is rather confusing to navigate, but once you come here more often.." Orion's voice trailed off as he came to a crossroads of corridors. "It.. it will become easier." He said as he chose a hallway.

"Apparently he hasn't been here often." Skywing whispered to Shard, making she chuckle quietly. Orion glanced back and both quickly gained composure.


	4. Day One Ends

After a while, Orion was able to lead them out. He walked into the main room with the two others at his heels. He gestured to the door with a nod.

"Here we are." Orion said as he came to a stop. Shard and Skywing looked at each other then looked to Orion. "This is where your life long mission begins." He said to them with slight distaste but quickly covered it up with a small smile. He then looked to Shard and added with a nod. "Stay safe." Shard nodded back to him and Skywing looked to Shard. Together they walked out of the building. Once they were gone, Orion went back to his office. Shard looked up at Skywing. He had a straight face as he looked out at Cybertron.

"Well, here we go." He said and started to walk off. Shard followed along side him.

"Yep, parter." Shard said with a smile as she nudged him. He glanced over and smiled.

"Alright then, partner. Where to?" He asked. She shrugged as she walked and looked around.

"I guess we head where ever the road takes up, or in you case, the wind." She said and they both chuckled.

"In that case, let's spend the first day traveling around, let to know that place." He said and jumped up to transform.

"In think that may take a bit more than a day, but sure!" Shard transformed as well and they took off.

They went by several other bots. All of which were of all shapes and sized which simply fascinated Shard. After getting a few dissapearing stares and some not so nice comments, she took to what seemed like a more desolate area. Skywing followed without question, he saw it all, no questions needed. They For awhile both were silent. Shard sighed at the quiet, but soon, Skywing spoke up.

"Hey Shard!" Skywing called down. "In think I see something that looks pretty interesting!"

"What!?" Shard called back. She couldn't quiet hear him over all the wind. "I can't hear you!" She said and Skywing landed unexpectedly in front of her. She braked quickly and transfored, almost running into him. "Skywing! By Primus, are you crazy!?" She shouted at him. Skywing chuckled a bit then shrugged.

"Who knows. Seriously though, sorry about that." Skywing said and Shard shook her helm. "Anyways, I was trying to say I saw something. Probably 20 clicks north. I saw some bots greeting eachother."

"Yeah, so? Bots have been greeting us all day." Shard said, but regardless, became courious.

"I know, but these guys.. I don't know. They seemd to be doing it in secret. Like, they were hiding something." He said then looked over in that direction. "Should we check it out?"

"Well," shard said with a shrug as she too looked over in the direction. She then looked to Skywing and gave a nod. "It is our job, isn't it?" She said and Skywing nodded at her. They transformed and headed over.

Once they were close, they hid behind a wall. The two that Skywing saw were gone, but two others had shown up. They did an odd handshake then glanced around. They gave eachother a nod then drove off together.

"This must be a rendezvous point." Shard said as she watched. "They're gone. Let's follow them." They stayed hidden and followed the two.

"They seem like.. workers. Factory workers." Skywing said in a hushed voice. He looked and saw that they split up. "I'll follow one, you take the other." Shard nodded and they too split up.

Shard stuck to the dim shadows, her optics glowing in the dark. The day was ending and the shadows became longer and darker. She followed the smaller mech into an alleyway. It seemed to be a dead end, but then something scanned him and a door opened. He walked in and Shard quickly followed, but before she could make it, a piece of metal was thrown at her. She started to look back to see where it had come from, but was instead tackled to the ground.

"Ah!" She shouted as she kicked him in the face. She struggled free and tried to run, but was cornered. She then remember her emergency energon pack and reached for it to call Orion as the mech rushed at her.

"Oh no you don't!" He said and grabbed both her arms.

"Let go of me! What do you want!?" Shard shouted and struggled to fight back, only to get thrown into a wall. She kicked her legs and tried to free her arms, but the mech was bigger than her and stronger. He had a tight grip on her.

"You're one of them cultural whatevers, aren't ya?" He said. "What are you doing here!? Come to get us locked up?" He said and threw her to the ground.

"No! No, I promise!" She quickly got up and watched him. "I was just curious about what was going on.." She said, then the mech pinned her roughly on the wall. He then grabbed a pickax that her had strapped onto him and hit the wall dangerously close to her head.

"Oh dear Primus, you're armed!" Shard whimpered and he hit his pickax to the wall again.

"You bet your aft I am! I'm stuck in mines everyday, you don't think I'm dumb enough to leave unarmed do ya!?" He said and held her be the throat.

"No.. no of course not.." Shard tried to say, her voice box was being crushed. The mech threw her down again, then kicked her across the alleyway.

"Your'e a pet of Iacon, aren't ya!?" He shouted as he marched towards her. "It's because of them I'm where I am!" Shard tried to get up, but her leg was hurt. She rolled over and remembered the stunner she carried she took aim, but the mech grabbed her arm and lifted her up. "Oh, I'm not glitchhead! I know those pieces of fragging scrap put this fancy little gadget in ya!" He said tossed her again.

At this point, she was too hurt to even yell for Skywing. She was bleeding and beaten She was too weak to even get back up. "That damn Guild set up this caste system long ago. And it's a pain in the aft! Do you know what I have to go through for just a few scraps of energon!?" Shard weakly shook her head. "Of course you don't... This, behind that door, that's all I got! And I, nor do any of those bots back there, need a little Iacon pet to go and report us! They'll have our sparks! and worse, the Replevin would be destroyed.." So, I gotta make sure none of that happens..." Shard looked up at him as he walked towards her with his pickax raised. "I just gotta get you offline..."

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 _ **A/N: Not gonna lie, the past few chapters have been kinda filler. But thanks for bearing with me! Hopefully this chapter picked it up a little. Also, just wanted to give a lil shoutout to A TFP fangirl! You are a great guest and I love reading your comments! Thanks for the love!**_


	5. New Light, New Dark

**_A/N: Oh, btw, I'm the queen of cliffhangers.. Ok, carry on!_**

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The mech's pickax came flying down and was aimed right at Shard's spark. She closed her eyes and turned her head, expecting to feel an enormous amount of pain, but she didn't. The ax got stopped inches away from her chest plate by a rather large blade.

"That's enough, Ashburn." Said a familiar voice. Shard looked up and saw a familiar face to match. Ome she did not expect to see.

"Castiron?" Shard muttered. The large gray and black mech looked down and gave her a small smile. He then quickly looked back up at Ashburn. He pushed him back hard and got in front of Shard.

"Leave her alone." He said in a calm voice.

"Leave her alone?" Ashburn echoed then laughed. "You know what she is, right? She's an investigator! She's an Iacon puppet! She'll get us shut down!" He shouted as he pointed his pickax towards the door. He then pointed it at Castiron. "And not only that, she'll get you and your group of traitors shut down too. All of our sparks will go offline.." Ashburn's voice grew dark and he looked at Shard again.

"She won't do that. After today, she won't be saying anything." Castiron said and pointed his blade at Ashburn. "Now get lost." He said in a threatening tone.

"You're on our turf, you get lost and let me finish what I started!" Ashburn charged him. His pickax met his blade and they clash. Ashburn then threw him out of the way and headed towards Shard. He again raised his ax.

"Ashburn! Stop! She's apart of the Gridlock!" Castiron said as he got up. Ashburn froze and locked eyes with Shard. "...you know the rules.." Castiron said. The air was stiff and Shard shivered. Ashburn's pickax went flying down and stuck in the ground beside Shard'said head.

"Take you piece of scrap and go.." Ashburn said and stepped away. Castiron picked Shard up onto her feet and helped her out of the alley. Ashburn then grabbed his pickax and disappeared into the secret passage way in the wall.

Shard was calmly dragged out and into the open. Once Castiron was sure that Ashburn was gone, he quickly took her away in urgency. He knew she had already lost a lot of energon and was critically injured.

"Come on. Let's get you out of here." He said as he looked around. He gave a whistle. Out of the corner of her eyes, Shard could see two other bots come up. "Echo, Saberquake, you two head over and try and find the other."

"There was another?" the mech asked with slight concern.

"Not there, but somewhere. They're partners." The other two nodded in understanding. "Tell him that Shard and Castiron sent you. He's a smaller mech, a flyer." They again nodded, transformed, then left. Castiron took Shard in the opposite direction. Shard looked back and watched the other two leave as she tiredly tried to walk with Castiron. Her optics flickered and Castiron looked down at her. He picked her up and started to run. "Come on, stay with me." He said, then all went black for Shard.

* * *

 _*Tomorrow by Daughter plays in background*_ _watch?v=3ogcogESkWA_

* * *

Skywing had followed the other mech into another back alley. Suddenly, the mech froze. Skywing did the same as he stayed hidden.

"Alright, you can show yourself now." The mech said without moving. Skywing hesitated at first then came out.

"I don't mean any harm." Skywing said with his hands up.

"Oh, I'm sure you don't." The mech said then turned around, pointing a blaster cannon at him. "Why are you here then?"

"I'm a cultural investigator from Iacon. I just wanted to know where you were going." Skywing said confidently and the mech shifted his weight.

"From Iacon, eh? How long you been there?" He said, keeping the cannon steady.

"Just today." Skywing answered. The mech stood still and considered it. He then put the blaster away and looked Skywing up and down.

"Newbie, huh? Okay. I'm Octane. Hailing from Simfur." He said and held out his hand. Skywing hesitated again then took it. "Want to know about your precious Guild?" He said as he continued to shake his hand. An evil smirk formed on his face.

"Uh, the Guilds of Cybertron? I, uh, already read about them.." Skywing tried to pull his hand away, but Octane simply held on tighter.

"Where? The Hall of Records? Hah!" He pulled Skywing close and sneered at him. "That's what they want you to think." A door opened up on the wall beside him and he threw Skywing in.

Skywing tried to escape, but to no avail. Octane walked into the small stair well, pushing Skywing further down. Skywing had no choice but to go. Soon, he saw dim light he became courious as then walked willingly.

"What's down here?" He asked as his eyes searched around the stairwell led to a large courtyard type aread.

"Oh, you'll see." Octane said and pushed him along. "Welcome to the Replevin!" He said as he outstreached his arms in a grand way. Skywing looked around in awe. Bots were walking around, the large area had energon reserves and table, a bar, a stage.

"What is this place?" He asked as they walked around. Octane chuckled as he saw that Skywing seemed to like it.

"This? This is a refuge. A safe haven!" He pat him on the back, almost making him fall over. "Bots from all reaches come to enjoy life. It's the only place the Guilds have no influence."

Octane walked him around and showed him the main room first. Some bots gave them sideways glances, others smiled.

"Here is where we gather," said Octane. "All sorts of bots come. Investigators all the way down to miners. You're lucky." Octane said and Skywing looked up at him, slightly confused.

"Lucky? How so?" He asked with slight concern.

"You're lucky because tonight, the most prestige one of us comes! We are always honored to have him as a guest." He said. Before Skywing could ask more questions, another bot walked up to them. A femme, short with black, purple, and details of yellow.

"Octane. Nice to see you. Who's this guy?" She asked as she looked him up and down. "You gotta name?" She asked and Skywing was distracted for a bit by her eyes. They were a bright purple. "Do you not have a name or somethin'?" She asked.

"Uh, right. Sorry. I'm Skywing." He said and held out his name. Octane chuckled and the femme scoffed.

"Skywing. From Iacon I assume?" She said and shook his hand. "I go by Compass. And a little rule of thumb." She slid her hand away and held it in a fist. "No one here shakes hands unless they're from Iacon. And not many are from Iacon." She said. "Come on, fist bump." She said and Skywing seemed slightly confused. He then put his hand on a fist and she fit her knuckles on his.

"Come on, Compass. Let's show the newb around." Octane said and Compass scoffs again.

"How's about no. I over heard some bit say that our guest of honor will be here soon." She said and started to walk off.

"Right, who is that guy? The guest?" Skywing asked, then Compass stopped and whirled around on her heels.

"You haven't told him yet?" She said and Octane laughed at her reaction as he shook his head. "Oh for Primus sake, you're a horrible lead." She said and pushed Octane away. "Our guest is none other than Megatronus himself!" She said and clapped her hands together once. "Oh, his words are of hope!" She said then she saw another mech. He seemed tired.

"Who's that?" Skywing asked as he saw that Compass and Octane had both looked over at him as he walked in and headed straight to the bar.

"That's just Ashburn. Don't mess with him, he's always a mean brute." Octane said and Compass nodded in agreement.

"Anyways," Compass continued on, "Megatronus stands for justice! He has a vision of a fair and just Cybertronian government. He says that one day, all will be equal. No more scavenging for scraps! No more getting treated like it either." She said with hope and joy in her eyes.

"Our government is not just?" Skywing asked. Octane shook his head and Compass scoffed again.

"That fragging caste system. It's horrible! Everything the Guilds do is horrible. Megatronus says that one day, he'll make sure all becomes right."

Just then, a mech came running from the stairwell. He looked around and once he spotted Octane, he hurried over.

"Octane, members of the Gridlock. They said they're looking for one of theirs?" He said and Octane shook his head.

"One of theirs? Impossible!" He said and then glanced at Skywing. "Did they say who they were looking for, exactly?"

"Yeah, goes by the name 'Skywing'. That's all they told me." Octane and Compass both looked at Skywing.

"You're with the Gridlock?" Compass asked with distaste in her tone.

"I, I have no idea.." Skywing said as he could feel the tension growing.

"Well, if their asking for you, then you must be.." Octane said, disappointed. "Just get out of here. We don't need any trouble here.." he said and slightly pushed him to the other mech. Compass went very close to Skywing, only inches from his face.

"Don't forget what I said. Don't believe them. Our world is corrupt. Only Megatronus can fix it.." she said, and pushed him away. "If you're smart, you'll make the right choice.." she said and walked away with Octane.


	6. Going Under

Skywing took one more sad look around.

"I said get out!" Octane shouted at him, making him jump back. A few looked back at them suspiciously. "You don't want to know what happens if you stay.." He then looked to Compass, but she gave nothing. She simply walked away. Skywing looked down the went off with the mech. They walked in complete silence until they were back to the surface. They were then greeted by two other bots.

"This him?" The mech leading Skywing asked. They looked him over for a few moments before answering.

"Shard, Castiron. Ring a bell?" The femme asked in a flat tone.

"Shard? Yeah. Where is she?" Skywing asked, again concerned.

"She's with us." She nodded to the mech and he gave a nod back before leaving back down the stairwell. Skywing looked back as the door closed then looked to the femme and mech in front of him.

"Where is she?" Skywing asked, a bit more serious this time. "And why do you have her?"

"Don't worry, kid. She's in safe hands. Just come with us, Shard and Castiron sent us to find you." The mech said then gave a smile. "Name's Saberquake." He said as Skywing looked him over. He let his hand stay there for a second, the took it. "This is Echo." He said as he gestured to the femme.

"Yeah. Anyways, we need to hurry and get back to base. We're rolling, follow us in the sky." The femme transformed into a bike and the mech, into a car. "Stay close." She finished before taking off. Skywing transformed and took the the air. Saberquake was behind him.

* * *

Echo, Skywing, and Saberquake make it traveled far. all was in total silence, for Skywing at least. They got to what seemed like a desolate place. A ghost town. Saberquake and Echo both transformed back, and so Skywing did the same. Once all were on the ground and on their feet, Echo lead the way through the town.

"This is base?" Skywing asked as he looked around. "Doesn't seem like it..."

"There's a reason why we're here of all places." Echo said.

"Yeah. We can't get found. Not by the Guilds and not be the Replevin." Saberquake added, still holding up the rear of the group.

"Another illegal group?" Skywing asked. "Why?"

"We'll explain everything. Just hurry up." Echo said as she picked up her speed. She lead them into an old factory of some kind. Skywing looked at the ground and noticed some energon had been spilled, and it wasn't old either. Echo went to the back, then kicked a panel on the ground twice. She paused then gave it another kick, paused, one more kick. An old elevator opened up and she gestured to pile in.

"Uh, this doesn't seem very safe.." Skywing said as he hesitated to walk in.

"Oh, come on. It's fine." Saberquake said as he grabbed Skywing's arm and pulled him in. The elevator creaked a little and the door shut.

A faint light in the corner and the glow from their eyes gave off just enough light to see. They descended far below the surface until the elevator creaked again as it slowed. Echo had to bang the door with her fist to get it open again. Once out, Skywing didn't see much. There were a few bots talking, come were at tables or computers. Skywing searched around for Shard, but instead found another familiar face.

"Castiron!" He said and ran over to him.

"Skywing! I was hoping you'd make it." He said and continued to walk on. Skywing followed close behind.

"Where's are you going? Where's Shard? And what's the Gridlock?" Skywing asked. Castiron gave a small sligh and he walked down a hallway, searching for a door.

"It's been... it's been a long day." He said at last. He found his door and opened it. It lead to a storage room and he went off to get a cube of energon.

"Okay, but where is Shard?" Skywing asked more dangerously. And Castiron noticed it. He looked at him then walked out of the room.

"Follow me." He said and walked back to where they came from. He then continued on through a pair of double doors. They walked down the hall that opened up into a vacant central location. Castiron went behind a desk and turned on a computer. He typed something in the turned it off again. Skywing started to get irritated at the stalling.

"Get me to where Shard is already!" She shouted.

"Alright! Alright! It's just a few door down." Castiron said as he lead him the rest of the way. He found a door and opened it up, leaving enough room for Skywing to walk through. "She's in there.." He said and waited for Skywing to walk in first. He looked at Castiron then at the doorway. He then walked in and tried to stay calm, but as soon as his eyes landed on Shard, he quickly dropped that demeanor.

"Shard!" Skywing shouted as he ran to her side. She had many scrapes, many cuts. Her eyes that should have been shining blue, where now dull and dim. Skywing then became very angry as he whirled around and turned on Castiron. "What did you do to her!? What happened!?" He shouted and started to walk towards him.

"Calm down! I can explain!" Castiron shouted back.

"Then you better explain real quick unless you want to get stunned!" Skywing said as he reached for the device on his arm.

"Skywing!" Castiron shouted and held up his hands. "Stand down!" Castiron was backed up into a wall, but then a red and white mech came running in.

"Hey, hey! What's going on in here!?" The mech shouted. "Who are you?" He added as he saw Skywing.

"I'm Skywing. Her partner! What's wrong with her!?" Skywing demanded.

"Alright, alright, calm down. Everything is fine. Shard is in a form of stasis. Stasis lock to be exact." The mech said as he walked to a computer. Skywing then relaxed and thus, so did Castiron. "Her brainwaves are normal and active. Everything is fine." said the mech as he checked over everything on the screen. Skywing had just noticed that Shard was had cables and wires connecting her to the computer and other devises. One of which had some of her vitals.

"She's.. alive then?" Skywing said as he looked at her seemingly lifeless face.

"Yes. She's alive." The mech said, slightly annoyed

"And she's safe?" Skywing pressed on. The mech gave a sigh and answered again.

"I was trained in Iacon. I believe I know what I'm doing." He then looked up at Castiron. "The energon, if you will?" He asked and held his hand out. Castiron passed it too him and the mech went towards Shard then stopped. He turned to Castiron and looked questionably at him. "What happened to the torch?" He asked him.

"Uh, well, Rustbelt used it and, well, I don't know where it went after that." Castiron said and the mech gave another sigh.

"... I needed that.."


	7. Update

_Updated list. Still oldest to yongest, but now it's kinda like a timelime._

 _Bold and italics are canon charecters,_

 _Italics and underlined are my charecters._

 _What do you guys think? Do you agree?_

 _Or do you disagree?_

 _If you disagree I would be very very happy to hear your suggestions!_

* * *

 ** _Shockwave_**

 ** _Megatronus_**

 ** _Dreadwing/Skyquake_**

The Replevin is created

 ** _Ratchet_**

 _Russet_

 ** _Orion Pax_**

The Gridlock is created

 _Echo_

 _Saberquake_

 _Castiron_

 ** _Soundwave_**

 _Ashburn_

 _Octane_

 _Compass_

 ** _Aracnid_**

 _Shard_

 _Skywing_

 ** _Megatron [name change]_**

 ** _Optimus Prime [name change]_**

The war for Cybertron starts

 ** _Wheel jack_**

 ** _Starscream_**

 ** _Arcee_**

 ** _Bulkhead_**

 ** _Breakdown_**

 ** _Knockout_**

 ** _Bumblebee_**

 ** _Smokescreen_**

* * *

I'll probably do one more update after this to finalize the list.

This is important so I know where charecters stand in the time line of my story.

I don't want to put Smoky in if he wasn't even born yet, ya know what I mean?


	8. AN Reason for delay

_**A/N: Hey.. sorry guys for not posting a new chapter. Things have been tough at home and school is about to start, so I've had a bunch of stuff to so with that. I'll see if I can get one chapter up late tonight or tomorrow. Sorry that it's been slow, I'm kinda worried that my depressed stage in my life is going to come back. (last time it involved suicidal thoughts, loss in hope, faith, trust, not being able to do my best in school or with my art/writings or really anything, not being happy what so ever for a year or two. Had to just fight through it with the help of some people and some really, really dramatic stuff at home.) No, I don't think I actually have depression, just a really tough time to accept/love my self. It's more like just a lot of stress and anxiety. Again, I'm really sorry. I've been working on the next chapter for days. Ugh. All that I have on my plate right now isn't helping. But I'm busy year round so, yeah. Again, I'm sorry, hope to give you guys some chapters in the near future, if not, I just ask that you guys bear with me.**_


	9. The Lead

The mech seemed annoyed and shook his head at the ground while Castiron seemed disappointed in himself.

"Fine, I'll make do with what I have." The mech said before his arm transformed into a torch. "The other one would have been much better for these wounds.." he said and as he saw Skywing react added, "But this works just as well, it might just be a little longer." He looked over Shard then glanced back at the two. "You two, get. I have work to do. Oh, and introduce him to Firestrike." Castiron nodded and him and Skywing walked out. They walked off in silence and Skywing looked up at Castiron.

"Why do you seem upset?" Skywing said and Castiron shrugged. "Are you trying to impress that grumpy mech?"

"Well, I kinda have too..." he said and sighed a short sigh. "His name is Ratchet, and he's my mentor."

"Oh." Skywing said.

"I'm an engineer, but I want to be a medic." Castiron continued. "Here, I can be, but I'm a pretty bad apprentice."

"Well, everything takes time." Skywing said and Castiron again shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess so. I'm not sure, I may quit." He said and Skywing shoved him.

"And I might be a four wheeler. Come on, if you want it, stick with it." He said and they made it back to the main room.

"Ha, alright. I guess you're right." Castiron said, then remembered what he was supposed to do. "Oh scrap. Come on, I'm not sure if Firestrike is here, but she might be."

"Right, who is she?" Skywing asked as he followed Castiron. They took a turn down a hallway.

"She's our leader." Castiron said as he lead Skywing through the dimly lit corridor. "Firestrike was the first to break away from the Replevin when she realized that they were beginning to become corrupt. It was around the time Megatronus started to come around and talk."

"Megatronus?" Skywing repeated as a chill went through his wings.

"Yeah. Him. At first, he'd say a few words, have a drink, and then be gone. Then he got a little louder, stayed a little longer. His bad influence was like an infection on many of the bots there, but Firestrike wouldn't stand for it. She called him out. Said he was speaking deception on all of them. He'd get them killed. On the contrary, she almost got herself killed that day. But she escaped with the help of others that agreed with her. They split off creating the Gridlock, the Replevin hated it. They fought, that is until the two leader, Firstrike and Octane, made a deal. They created rules to keep us both alive, that way we wouldn't self destruct. After that, we always attacked each other silently. Both only agreed to stay hidden from the Guilds. Even Firestrike says they're corrupt." They got to a door and Castiron opened it. Inside, it was dark, a computer was on and gave off some light.

"What's so wrong with the Guilds?" Skywing asked. Castiron opened his mouth to answer, but someone else beat him to it.

"They hold the high status bots on a silver pedestal, while they force the lower class to work hard until they're sparks fade away." They two mech turned to see a femme. She was taller than the both of them with wide shoulders. Her colors where a stunning orange and red along with perfect silver. Her eyes were fiery red and pitch black, burning like coals through Skywing. "They forget them. And none of us can interact, unless in the name of collecting data... Castiron, who is this?" Firstrike asked without her stare even twitching away from Skywing.

"Madam Firestrike, this is Skywing. He was born early this morning. His partner is the femme that's currently in stasis lock." Firstrike seemed to relax and leaned on her hip as she placed her hand on her hips.

"A newbie, huh? Well it's nice to meet you." She said then shifted her weight and crossed her arms. "Where are you from?"

"Uh, Iacon, um, ma'am." Skywing shuddered out as he continued to look awe struck by the femme.

"Iacon bot. Where do you stand on the scale?" She asked and Skywing seemed confused, then Castiron helped him out.

"He's a C.I." he said and Skywing nodded his head.

"Investigator? Nice. You could come on handy then..." Firestrike's voice faded as she then moved to the computer. "If you came here to chat, I'm more than willing to do so. Otherwise, leave. I have work to do." She didn't say it rudely, but rather, passively.

"Of course. Ratchet just wanted me to introduce him to you. We will get out of your way now." Castiron held up in hand in a salute stance. Firestrike responded with a simple nod causing Castiron to relax. Firestrike then went to face the computers. Skywing glanced at what was on the screen: plans. He became interested and almost asked about it. That is until Castiron made a sound of clearing his throat. Skywing then looked over at Castiron and he gestured that they needed to leave.

"Good bye, Firestrike." Skywing said giving her a nod and headed towards Castiron. They quickly left while the door quickly closed.

"Don't ask." Castiron said sharply as they walked down the corridor.

"Ask what?" Skywing asked with a touch of confusion in his voice. But with slight understanding as well.

"You're going to ask what was on the computer screen." He answered as he looked slightly down as walked. "Don't. Even Ratchet doesn't know. It's on a need-to-know basis. And Firestrike is the only one who needs to know."

"Hm..." Skywing furrowed his brows and looked to the ground. Castiron glanced suspiciously at him but didn't say a single room.

"I'm going to go see if Ratchet needs anything." Castiron finally said as they returned top the main room. "You should go back to your investigating. The Guilds watch newbs closely, more so than older bots." He said as he bit a hand on his shouldered. "Careful out there." He then turned and walked back to the infirmary.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Sorry for being gone for so so long! Life and crap. Still kinda rough but also very busy. I'm involved in my school a lot. So I'll try to be like Alex Hamilton and write like I'm running out of time. Tbh tho, the next few chappies will kinda be filler. Just bear with me. I'll try to make it all enjoyable! Thanks for sticking around!**_


	10. AN: Off Topic, New Years!

**_A/N:_**

 _ **Sorry that this isn't a new chapter and sorry for not  
**_ _ **updating in a while but,**_

 ** _Happy New Year!_**  
 ** _2017 is finally here!_**  
 ** _For me at least, I'm in a Central Time Zone.  
_** ** _Anyways, Happy New Years to everyone, I hope_**  
 ** _all of you have a great year ahead of you!_**

 ** _Much appreciation to those who read my stories and  
_** ** _comment on them! Love you guys!_**

 ** _Have a great 2017!_**


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